Accepting Who We Are
by Tifa Strifeheart
Summary: A one shot. Vincent faces who he has become and doesn't like what he sees. Yuffie helps him shed some light on it.


My first Final Fantasy VII Fic. I've always liked the Yuffie and Vincent Couple so I decided to do a short-ish one. They always seemed so cute together, the whole thing about opposites attracting is so- and these two have got to be on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. I hope I'm accurate, considering hw much I love that game I deserve each and every flame for getting anything wrong. Read and Review.

* * *

**Accepting Who We Are**

**Final Fantasy VII**

**Bad Tifa**

I am who I am. I am what I am and there is nothing that can change that. I was a man once upon a time. A Turk, a hero, a savior, a love, a sinner. Now I am simply a monster. Demons are what lie in my past, present and future. The demons of my sins and of my mistakes. My failures.

They all echo. The screams. They bounce off the closed in walls of my mind. Refusing to become quite; making their presence ever known. Not once have they ever been completely still but the, never have my thoughts been mine alone. No. My life is no longer my own. Hasn't been my own for years. Everything that was once mine has been ripped away by the beast. But by the beast within or by the one who put it there. Mind, body, soul; all have been cursed, soiled, tainted.

I have taken more lives then I have blown out candles all in the name of duty. The blood of the innocent – families, the young and the old – is stained on my hands. The souls off the innocent tear at me. Tearing my soul to shreds. But the worst, the absolute worst, had to be _her_. It was not at my hands she died – never could it have been at my hands – but her blood still drips from my hands. Lucrecia. My dear sweet Lucrecia. She was my greatest of all sins. If only I had done something; if only I had tried. The first my heart ever learned to love, the first I ever cared for. The guilt in my soul will forever plague me. Inside I beg for a forgiveness I know I'll never obtain; forgiveness I can never give myself. Not for her. I held Lucrecia dear to me. She had been a brief light in my endless darkness. Brief but brilliant.

A light feather touch on my arm pulls me out of my wandering thoughts. I turn and she smiles up at me. Our eyes lock and she smiles. Not many have been able to do that, not that I can blame them. I have seen my eyes. I have seen my torment. I gaze back. Her eyes are dark almost as the depths of my soul, but different. They are warm and remind me of chocolate, something in my past long forgotten. She has nothing to hide; her eyes reveal her. I don't know if that emotion in her eyes is in my own, but I know what it s to feel it. Slowly the force of that emotion is thawing the heart I thought had frozen and died. It is allowing me to feel once again.

There is something about her. She is not a replacement for Lucrecia, no, she is much more. Her way of life is different from Lucrecia's. From my own. She faces her foes even with the knowledge that she will lose. She stands up for what she believed in. She over came her biggest trial. She sees something in me that I never thought could exist. She sees the monster in me and embraces it. She knows of my sins and forgives them. _She_ has become my light.

"Vincent." She grasps my arm and leans against it. Silently nodding, my face brushes against her silky brown hair. Jasmine. "What are you thinking about?" I raise my head.

"Nothing." She pokes a finger into my sides and giggles lightly. It sounds like bells. I feel, rather then see, her peer up at me.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" I stay silent. "You know I don't." Gently, I pull away from her. She stares up at me with confusion filled eyes but doesn't say anything. I take one hand with my human one but hesitate to touch her with my claw. She sighs and shakes her head, smiling softly. She places her hand in my metal one and looks up at me expectantly.

"I…" Only with her have I ever been at a loss for words.

"Say what you feel." At my raised eyebrow she giggles, acknowledging how out of character she sounds. For a moment I simply stare at her before nodding. Standing there in the glow of the setting sun she is beautiful. She is wearing her usual battle outfit and there is a smudge of dirt on her left cheek but she couldn't look any more stunning to me.

" I know how I feel about you. For once that is something I am sure of but it changes nothing. It doesn't change who I am. I have nothing that I can rightfully call my own apart from the cloths on my back. All I have is what lies inside and thus I cannot consider myself a man. And surly not a man worthy of someone like you. Yuffie, all I have are my sins. My sins and my failures and I cannot expect you to accept that. I do not wish for you to carry the burdens that are my own alone to bear.

* * *

I felt his grip tighten and watched him fall silent. His head was bowed in the cutest was, with his raven hair hiding his face from me. He just didn't get it or he just didn't _want_ to get it. I loved him and something – he'd say my '_soul'_ – was reaching out to him. Sue in the beginning it was different, but now… things change. I pulled my hands away from him and watched, slightly amused, as he tenses up, his arms dropping to his sides. Gently, I place a hand on his chest at the same time placing the other on his chin and lifting his head to look him in the eyes.

The first thing that I fell for were his eyes. Red eyes. Eyes of blood and passion. Eyes of love. If only he knew how often I had seen them in my dreams. His eyes were usually so cold but now… he had let his shields down. I could see the sadness in those normally emotionless orbs of his. I could feel his silent cry. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks.

"Vincent. Vinny-"The nick name seemed o fit, with it being so cute and him hating it so much. "- I don't care. Do you understand that? I couldn't care less!" A laugh bubbled up inside me. "I know what you think – how you feel. How you feel about yourself but I don't care. You could give away your cloths, be without a single Gil and permanently stuck in Chaos form and it wouldn't make a difference. I laughed out loud. "Though it may complicate things, it wouldn't change how I feel about you… much." I laughed again, letting the tears along with the words flow out on the wave of senseless joy that I was feeling.

"I _love_ you Vincent Valentine! I love everything about you. Everything from your moodiness to your Dracula like behavior. They will always be apart of you. All of them. The Galian Beast, Hellmasker, Gigas and Chaos. But they are not you. I accept them as a part of you but it's you I love. I've fallen for you the person and it's you that I want; if I have to take the whole package to get you then so be it."

* * *

I cannot remember the last time my vision blurred but, for an instant, it did. She must have noticed, because she placed her arms around my neck and smiled up at me. "Don't you get it yet? And usually you're so smart too. I love you, ya bloody vampire!" After that I couldn't help letting the corner of my mouth touch upwards as I gently wrapped my arms around her waist.

* * *

"Shhh… Will you guys shut up?!" Cid gave me a lop-sided grin.

"Come on Tifa. Vincent Valentine gothic freak and Yuffie Kisaragi hyperactive twit? That's down right hilarious!" I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. An arm was suddenly placed over my shoulders. I didn't even have to look at him to know who it was.

"Tifa, it _is_ funny." That soft voice didn't deceive me. Turning my head I glared into Mako blue eyes. Cloud simply chuckled, a sound I was newly beginning to hear and cold quickly get used to. With a sigh, I let the glare go.

"Well, I think it's romantic." Cid deserved it, he really did. He had started to laugh again. I watched him rubbing his arm a look of pain on his face and inaudible curses mingling with his laughter. The idea of punching him again seemed very appealing I have to admit.

"I agree." I wasn't the only one who looked at the new comer with surprise.

"What do you mean Red?" Since the other two didn't look like they were going to ask anyways.

"I sensed it when I first met them. Though with completely different outlooks towards life, they have kindred sprits; when you tear away the rest of it theat makes them different." I wanted to kiss him right there and then but merely settled with hugging him.

"Hey Tifa." I glanced over at the blonde swordsman. "If you let go of Red, you may want to take a look." Letting go of the talking beast\lion, I turned to look out at the two standing on the deserted beach. I couldn't help myself; I gasped. It was the rest of them that shushed me!

* * *

Finding a courage born of free of darkness, Vincent pulled Yuffie closer to him savoring her warmth. Looking down at her, crimson eyes meeting chocolate, he allowed the barrier around himself to fall away completely allowing Yuffie a glimpse of his soul. What she found there was the beauty she had always been expecting. Gently, she cupped his cheek in a loving caress.

"You're beautiful, you know that?"

"As are you." He whispered, his smile small but showing what he felt. "I love you, Yuffie." She smiled, all the joy she felt shining through it.

"I love you to, Vinny." She whispered as he leaned over and captured her lips. Vincent and Yuffie stood on the sunlit beach locked in a passionate kiss as they shared a loving moment of togetherness.

Well, well, well! How was it? I need to know! Hey I'm not so good at the romance thing but I'm trying. You know at this rate I'll never get a fic done.

* * *

Please Read and review. 


End file.
